More than 5,000 people have fled northeastern Nigeria into neighbouring Cameroon after Boko Haram militants seized the border town of Kirawa in Borno State, residents and community leaders said on Friday.
Borno, the epicentre of a 16-year insurgency led by Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has witnessed a surge in attacks this year targeting both civilians and security forces.
Since January, insurgents have overrun several army bases and communities in the state, though they were later pushed back by the military after reinforcements were deployed.
The latest assault on Thursday night forced District Head Abdulrahman Abubakar to abandon his palace, which was burned down along with a military barracks and dozens of homes.
“I was left with no option but to flee to Cameroon,” Abubakar told Reuters by phone. “Residents boarded trucks to seek refuge across the border, while others ran to Maiduguri,” the state capital.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack and released a video showing its fighters setting the barracks ablaze while chanting, “Victory belongs to God,” as flames engulfed the night sky.
Residents reported that Kirawa is now deserted.
“Boko Haram is in control,” said Dauda Hassan, who managed to escape to Pulka, a nearby town with a military presence.
Thursday’s assault came just weeks after the September 19 attack on Banki, another border town, where Boko Haram fighters overran a military barracks, forcing soldiers to retreat and seizing weapons.
Yakubu Mabba Ali Kirawa, head of the town’s development group, called for urgent military reinforcements, saying that only local vigilantes and residents remain to provide security after a multinational military task force withdrew following an attack in August.
